Sayyid Eisa al-Khirsan, the Deputy Custodian of the Holy Alawi Shrine, at the conclusion of the ceremonies marking the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Supreme Prophet, issued a message expressing gratitude to all the mourners and pilgrims, the Hussaini mourning and service processions, the people of Najaf al-Ashraf, as well as the official, security, and service institutions, and praised their valuable efforts in organizing the pilgrimage ceremonies and commemorating the exalted station of the Great Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) in the most magnificent manner.
The message was read by Haidar al-Eisawi, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Holy Alawi Shrine and supervisor of the Management Office for Million-Pilgrim Visits, at a press conference attended by representatives of news agencies and media outlets at the Guesthouse of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) in the Holy Alawi Shrine.
The text of the statement is as follows:
“In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets.” (Surah al-Ahzab, Verse 40)
Praise be to God, whose blessings cannot be counted and whose favors cannot be enumerated; the describers cannot reach the reality of His glory, and the thinkers cannot attain the limit of His perfection; God who is unique in greatness and majesty, exalted above any likeness or peer; God whose signs bear witness to His existence, whose creations testify to His oneness, and through whose wisdom the heavens and the earth are established.
We send peace and blessings upon the master of the prophets and the Seal of the Messengers, Muhammad al-Mustafa, who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, and upon his pure family—the lamps of guidance, the arks of salvation, the trustees of revelation, and the proofs of God upon His servants; continuous and increasing blessings, as long as night follows day and the pen of destiny flows in His dominion; especially upon our master, Imam al-Hujjaht ibn al-Hasan (may God hasten his noble reappearance).
Then we offer our peace and blessings at the sacred threshold of our master and lord, Amir al-Muminin Ali al-Murtada (peace be upon him); for he is the one afflicted by this tragedy and the mourner of this great loss.
To proceed:
By the grace of God and the blessing of the owner of this sacred shrine, the number of pilgrims and mourners who came to visit on the occasion of the martyrdom of the master of all creation, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), reached approximately five million pilgrims and mourners, according to the data recorded by the system of cameras equipped with electronic counting technology at the Information Technology Center of the Holy Alawi Shrine.
The servants of the Holy Alawi Shrine extend their condolences and sympathy to the presence of Imam Sahib al-Amr (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake), the supreme religious authorities, and all believing men and women throughout the world, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Great Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).
Furthermore, the servants of the Holy Alawi Shrine express their sincerest gratitude and appreciation to all the esteemed pilgrims who honored the shrine of the brother of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), the Hussaini mourning and service processions, the noble people of Najaf al-Ashraf, and all official and unofficial institutions and individuals, as well as the security forces with all their units and formations, for their valuable efforts in organizing the pilgrimage ceremonies in a manner befitting the greatness of the owner of this shrine and the one afflicted by this tragedy.
At the conclusion, the Custodian of the Holy Alawi Shrine described this tragedy—the martyrdom of the Great Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)—as a great calamity for the Islamic ummah and concluded his message with the verse: “Indeed, we belong to God, and indeed to Him we shall return.”
“Indeed, we belong to God, and indeed to Him we shall return.”
“We have been afflicted by the loss of you, O beloved of our hearts; what a great calamity is the loss of you, for revelation has ceased and we have lost you. So we are from God and to Him we return.”
Servant of the Shrine: Sayyid Eisa Muhammad Salih Al-Khirsan
Deputy Custodian of the Holy Alawi Shrine
